I grew up in South Africa, and didn’t know much about Alfa Romeos except based on what I happened to observe and read.

My friend’s dad owned a 1977 BMW 3.0L. This was the no-smog-controls version. The car was FAST. It put out 149kW which according to a calculator I just used means 199.7 horsepower. In the late 1970, South Africa had much car-craziness in its culture, and departing from a stoplight often means an impromptu drag race. The BMW pretty much changed the process to a boring one. Hardly anyone could keep up, or even come close. The car was also automatic, so when my friend drove it, there wasn’t even the potential excitement of him missing a shift, or too much wheel-spin. The car simple demolished the competition, every time … until the car in the next lane was a red Alfa Romeo Spyder.

Wow.

In South African form, the Alfa Romeo had 112 kW (about 150 horsepower) but the power-to-weight ratio, gearing, manual transmission, driver skills or some combination of those made for the uncanny phenomenon where the little red convertible glided swiftly ahead of the BMW, which never caught up.

I was impressed.

And, today, I own one. I like that. It's also red, a 1974 model.









Pretty, yes?

 

I've had this in my storage shed for 5 years, and I'm getting ready to drive it again.